Trial delayed in perjury case

St. Joseph County Circuit Judge Paul Stutesman has granted a defense motion that postpones a Sept. 2 jury trial for Raymond E. McCann II, a Three Rivers man charged with five counts of perjury linked to the homicide of Jodi Parrack.

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By Kathy JessupJournal Correspondent

Sturgis Journal - Sturgis, MI

By Kathy JessupJournal Correspondent

Posted Aug. 8, 2014 at 8:03 PM

By Kathy JessupJournal Correspondent
Posted Aug. 8, 2014 at 8:03 PM

Centreville

St. Joseph County Circuit Judge Paul Stutesman has granted a defense motion that postpones a Sept. 2 jury trial for Raymond E. McCann II, a Three Rivers man charged with five counts of perjury linked to the homicide of Jodi Parrack.

James Mequio, a Portage attorney representing McCann, told Stutesman on Friday that the defense needs more time to obtain and evaluate evidence connected to testimony McCann provided to authorities after Parrack’s body was found in a Constantine cemetery in 2007.

Authorities say the youth’s body had bruises around the neck, wrists and nipples and her death certificate lists the cause as homicide resulting from asphyxiation due to strangulation.

Investigators have said DNA recovered from the girl’s body indicated sexual contact and finding its match would identify the perpetrator.

While McCann has been identified as a “person of interest,” he has not been charged with the homicide and officials have confirmed that a DNA sample he voluntarily provided does not match the crime-scene sample.

Instead, McCann was arrested and has been lodged in the St. Joseph County Jail since April on a perjury complaint, unable to post a $225,000 bond.

McCann was initially charged with a single perjury count, but prosecutors made it a five-count complaint following a July 9 preliminary examination, when St. Joseph County District Judge Robert Pattison found there was sufficient probable cause to go to trial.

Expanded charges allege five inconsistencies in sworn testimony McCann gave at a prosecutor’s inquiry about his actions the night Parrack was reported missing and later found dead.

Mequio has claimed prosecutors are using the perjury charges to “coerce” information from McCann.

No dates were set Friday for either a rescheduled status conference or trial.